That thought snaps her back to reality. Aylin quickly glances at her watch. She has to start dinner in half an hour. She leans closer to the mirror and expertly assesses today’s make-up needs. Maybe things would heal faster if I didn’t cover them up with creams and powders. But even as she allows herself to toy with the idea, she realises she can’t do it; the children would ask, at least Tyra would. Or even worse, they might just look at her with those silent, frightened eyes. No, for their sakes, she has to make the best of the situation. Besides, Bo would be furious if she forced him to see what she really looks like without make-up. Especially now that he’s going through such a difficult time, with so much stress at work and all that pressure from the party, too.

Provoking him is the last thing she wants to do.

Chapter 25

25

‘OK, well, at least that’s easily checked with his service provider,’ Karen says quietly to Byle ten minutes later as they’re walking five paces behind William Tryste on their way to the warehouse. ‘He talks a lot, doesn’t he? Chattering away like a street vendor on speed, hawking his wares.’

Thorstein Byle smiles.

‘I suppose,’ he says. ‘But, then, I probably would, too, if I had his job. I assume sipping single malts all day is more fun than writing tickets for home distilling and speeding. And in this place, too,’ he adds, nodding at the view.

As they follow William Tryste across the yard, he continues his enthusiastic monologue, frequently hollering back over his shoulder to make himself heard over the wind and the crashing of the waves:

‘We make everything on site here at Groth’s, from grain to loaf, so to speak. Or in our case, from barley to bottle. A lot of distilleries buy their malt these days – there are even some who call themselves whiskey makers despite not even making their own mash. But we have everything we need here on Noorö, barley, water, peat . . . Did you know we still use old-fashioned yeast logs? As far as I know, we’re the only distillery that does.’

When Thorstein Byle starts to ask follow-up questions about fermentation effect, Karen stops listening. Tryste’s enthusiasm is both endearing and exhausting.

William Tryste leads them at a brisk pace toward the warehouse where Jens Groth is supposedly to be found. As they pass a long two-storey building, he stops and turns around.

‘This is the malt house, by the way. I started out in one of these, but in Scotland, obviously. Checked the temperature, turned the wet barley, opened and closed the windows to maintain a constant temperature. You want the barley to germinate, but you have to stop that process at the exact right moment for drying and smoking. Are you sure you don’t have time for a proper tour?’